Elton John Pokes Fun at Record-Label ‘A–holes’

We can always count on Elton John to speak his mind, even if it means insulting his record company and making fun of his old friend Rod Stewart's fondness for resting on his laurels.

John was in typically feisty form during a recent appearance on 'The Graham Norton Show,' where he stopped by to discuss his recently released album 'The Diving Board.' Reiterating the record's talking points -- such as that it's the "most piano-orientated" set of songs he feels he's recorded -- John pointed out that every artist hopes to constantly improve over time, because otherwise, there isn't any real point in continuing.

Of course, record companies tend to see things a little differently. Jokingly calling the people who run his current label "a--holes," John recalled that it was something of a struggle just to get them to release a batch of original material. "They're a very good record company," he chuckled. "But they wanted me to make Christmas albums, cover albums, Motown records, but that's so silly, you know? I'll leave that to Rod Stewart and people like that."

Grinning as the audience erupted in laughter, John added, "Having said that, his album is doing much better than mine. A--holes!"

It was just one part of an entertaining visit that also found John recounting a thoroughly surreal-sounding evening that he spent in a royal disco, dancing to 'Rock Around the Clock' with the Queen of England, as well as pausing to perform the 'Diving Board' track 'Voyeur,' which you can see in the above video. We can't wait for Rod Stewart's next 'Norton' appearance.